South Africa rejects Dewani 'trial by media'

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – South African prosecutors refused to comment on a BBC investigation which claims to have exposed holes in the murder case against British businessman Shrien Dewani on Thursday, rejecting a "trial by media."

Dewani is accused of orchestrating the murder of his bride Anni Dewani during their honeymoon in Cape Town in 2010.

Anni, a Swedish national, was shot dead in a slum outside the city, in what appeared like a botched hijacking.

The BBC's Panorama claimed that privately conducted ballistic evidence suggested that the shooting was an accident.

Professor Jim Fraser told the BBC's Panorama programme there was "simply a cloud of suspicion... rather than any evidence" against Dewani.

It also alleged state evidence might be flawed, in a high-profile case that has led to protracted legal wrangling between the two countries.

Dewani remains in Britain in a mental health clinic where he is being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and is fighting extradition to South Africa.

"The matter is sub judice. We don't want to have the trial discussed in media," the National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said.

"We have faith in the work done by our police."

Firearms experts at the Forensic Firearms Consultancy in London are said to have been commissioned to review the evidence.